Evie was right. I never wanted her to marry Joe.

I had no idea why he fell so goddamn hard for her. She was boring and predictable. Since she'd met Joe, she'd planned and organized their lives into tidy boxes.

Tonight had been the first time I'd seen a hair out of place. Her meltdown was like watching a natural disaster. I was horrified and fascinated all at once.

Across the ballroom, Joe was dancing with the few remaining wedding guests to a disco song, while I sat at one of the empty round tables. It was past midnight, and most of the guests had retired.

Evie barely made it through the ceremony. Tears ran down her cheeks the entire time. A few guests commented that it was strange to see her so emotional. She usually held her cards close to her chest, not revealing what was behind that perfect facade.

After the speeches, she'd disappeared. Some story about bad fish. Obviously, it was an excuse to hide for the rest of the night.

She always had a contingency plan in place if things took an unexpected turn, but Joe fucking his ex-girlfriend was obviously not something she'd considered on her list of things that could go awry on her wedding day.

Joe collapsed in a chair next to one of his work friends, laughing and chugging his beer.

If my new wife had food poisoning, I'd be with her, not closing down the party. He hadn't checked on her once.

"Scoot." Rachel, Evie's maid of honor, pulled the seat out next to me.

She was clad in her black lace bridesmaid dress and her pastel-pink hair had fallen out of her topknot and lay in a curly mess around her shoulders.

I liked Rachel. She was a bit off-the-wall, but you always knew where you stood with her.

"I thought you left hours ago," I said.

Rachel adjusted the pink bra strap that had fallen down her shoulder and tucked her bare foot under her thigh.

"I was with Evie in the room. She's a wreck, so I gave her a Valium and now she's sleeping."

"Because of the food poisoning?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

"No, you idiot. Because Joe is banging Ashley."

I choked on my sip of scotch.

"I know you helped her earlier," Rachel said, crossing her arms and eyeing me suspiciously. "I'm surprised you didn't leave her there and go high-five your boy."

"Fuck him." I ground my teeth together.

Rachel widened her eyes, surprised at my response.

"So you did know he was cheating."

"No," I glowered. "But I've learned a few things about my boy recently. So I wasn't surprised."

Rachel turned fully toward me. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Shit. Why had I said that?

"Nothing," I grumbled into my drink.

"Oh, hell no. You don't get to drop that grenade and then shut down. You owe it to Evie to confess if you knew something about Joe. You shit on her from the moment you met her, and guess what? It's Joe who turned out to be the asshole."

I glared at the stained, white tablecloth.

Joe met Evie during my last year at Syracuse University, but I was already living in Manhattan. I'd been hired at a small financial company to help design their new app and was finishing up my degree online at night while I worked during the day.

Joe had graduated from his trade school two years prior and was working for a contractor in Syracuse, managing a new build, when he met Evie.

She was also a senior at Syracuse, but I'd never met her until I came up one weekend to visit Joe.

I joined them at a house party, and everyone was laughing and drinking but Evie, who sat in a corner working on her resume.

That wasn't a big deal, but Joe is an affectionate and big-hearted guy, and Evie barely acknowledged him all night.

The entire weekend Joe padded around her like a puppy dog, eager for any attention she threw at him, but she was cold and aloof.

Everything had to be her way, and I was shocked that Joe went along. She'd planned out their entire future after one month. It was unnerving.

Women were usually all over Joe. He worked out like it was his job, and there was something about the rugged construction worker thing that made women go wild.

Evie didn't seem to care about any of that, and I wondered why she was with him at all.

I understood why Joe was with her.

It was ironic, but her indifference was intoxicating to Joe. He came across as self-assured and confident, but his ego was fragile, and Evie would've been a challenge. I doubt he realized this on a conscious level. But Joe definitely fit the mold of someone wanting what they couldn't have.

A year later, when Joe asked her to marry him, I couldn't take it. The last thing I wanted for my best friend was to wake up one day and realize he was in a loveless marriage.

My parents had barely tolerated each other, only staying together for my sister and me. But their bitterness seeped into everything, and we had a miserable childhood. It drove my father to drink and my mother into a deep depression.

I wanted Joe to be with a woman who saw how goddamn amazing he was.

But I'd been wrong.

Joe wasn't amazing. He was a piece of shit.

"Evie's not the only one Joe betrayed," I said, the words burning my throat.

A shadow fell over Rachel's pierced brow. "What are you talking about?"

If I was going down this road, I had to spit it out fast. "Joe slept with Jasmin."

Rachel gasped. "While you were together?"

"A few weeks after we broke up."

"Damn." Rachel clucked.

Jasmin was my college girlfriend and the first girl I'd loved. When she dumped me, I was a wreck.

"While I laid on his couch, wallowing in my misery, he was fucking her behind my back." I clamped my mouth closed, bile rising up my esophagus.

"And you stayed friends with him?" Rachel asked. I cut my gaze toward her, and she threw her hands up. "I'm not judging, just asking."

"I only found out a few weeks ago. I didn't want to ruin the wedding." I flagged down a waiter and asked for water. I'd already said too much. "Not for Joe's sake. But for Evie's. I'm not her biggest fan, but I'm not a complete dick. Joe hadn't betrayed her. Well...not that I'd known about."

Rachel glanced over my shoulder at Joe gyrating his hips on the dance floor to a Bee Gees song, his thick shoulders transparent through his sweaty dress shirt.

"What are you going to do?" Rachel asked, steepling her fingers under her chin.

I gulped my water. "If I confront him now, it might mess things up for Evie, right?"

Rachel nodded and tapped her pointed nail on the side of her champagne glass, thinking.

"Evie can't divorce Joe yet, and when the shock wears off, she's gonna feel trapped," Rachel said. "She's not one to sit back and let life happen. She'll want retaliation."

"Ha," I said without humor. "She's not the type to get revenge. It's too messy."

"You'd be surprised," Rachel said. She didn't give a further explanation, and I didn't push it.

I stood up and punched my arms into the sleeves of my jacket and shoved my ridiculous top hat on my head. I had to get out of there.

"If she wants to fuck with him, let me know," I said, a sneer on my lips. "I'm in."

Author's Note: What do you think of Ethan so far? Let everyone know in the comments.